A Few Simple Curves

I've always enjoyed making work with as few straight lines as possible and this Art Nouveau inspired balustrade is a good example of this since it has none!

I know steel can hardly be described as a natural material since it's made by smelting iron ore on an industrial scale in blast furnaces that conjure up images of Dante's Inferno... but I always find the texture of forged steel complements natural materials such as wood, stone and leather wonderfully. I usually finish off this kind of work by burnishing away most of the firescale from the forge with a wire brush then waxing it. This gives the steel a variegated grey black appearance. However, with this balustrade I completely cleaned off all the scale with a strong acid to really show off the microtexture caused by the forging process. I have to say the waxed steel looks absolutely superb next to the stripped wood.